Will it be No Cigar for Clinton, Literally?

In continuing updates to the Send Clinton Cigars initiative, http://sendclintoncigars.com, an organization that allows you to anonymously send cigars to Hillary Clinton, the Tampa Bay Tribune reports this morning that they have lost their primary cigar supplier. The company spokesperson claimed that they are apolitical.

“We were negotiating for selling the cigars for a charity event, but when the article came out, we were concerned, because our company is apolitical,” said Shandra Lee, vice president of marketing for the J.C. Newman Cigar Co. of Ybor City.

The website is offering cigars at a range of prices — one for $3, three for $5 or five for $10. “We want to give 80 percent of the money to charity,” Peters said, with the rest going to purchasing and shipping.

Eric Newman, president and co-owner of the J.C. Newman Cigar Co. said he wouldn’t sell to any organization with a political bent, regardless of affiliation, and that Congresswoman Kathy Castor, a Democrat, has been instrumental in the fight to protect his company, the city’s last cigar factory. Initially denying his company was going to sell the cigars to the group, Newman acknowledged that the two parties were negotiating a deal.

That last statement might sound a little more likely that they have strong Democratic ties to be concerned about.

We reached out for a comment, “We were just sitting here here discussing this,” said Rob Peters, who helped come up with the idea for the website. “We are looking into a new supplier as we speak.”